Clare Maguire - Light After Dark (U.K.)

Tongues are wagging in full force across the pond as 22-year-old Irish singer Clare Maguire gets primed for a major roll out in both the U.K. and U.S. for debut album Light After Dark (February 28, U.K. -- U.S. TBD). As we await follow-ups from yesteryear's Next Big Things -- Adele, Duffy, Winehouse -- Maguire and her singles "Strangest Thing" and "Last Dance" are filling the void with songs that are both big and haunting, a voice raw and emotionally charged, soulful pipes that can wail and shout backed with either spare production bed of reverbed piano chords and wood block beats or massive production scale. Impressive? You bet.

Background? We hear tales of bidding wars, drinks with Jay-Z at his club, a handful of knockout live gigs, Rick Rubin shot left waiting at the altar, A-List producers and co-writers courted and rejected and, finally, a deal sealed with Universal a million-pound check writ, well, large. The "less-is-more" press campaign keeps things focused on the music, we surmise, which is a good thing, though we can't help but wonder if the suits are simply going with this strategy more out of a fear of protecting their investment than in actually having -- in this viral day and age -- a controllable campaign. With a voice like this at stake, we get it. The rules are being rewritten as we write this. For now...listen. More? Watch the video for "Ain't Nobody" after the jump.

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Clare Maguire - "Ain't Nobody" (from the album Light After Dark)

Clare Maguire - "Strangest Thing" (Free download at her site)

Clare Maguire - "Strangest Thing" (Original demo)